Earlier this month, government agencies in the U.S., Japan and across Europe agreed to use Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) as their official metric for data center efficiency. When it comes to energy efficiency in the data center, servers usually get the most attention. However, network equipment vendors have begun to emphasize energy efficiency features in their wares, notes Computerworld.

Networking can account for about 15 percent of the total power budget, and gear isn't equipped with power management controls like servers. Vendors have begun using high-efficiency power supplies and variable-speed cooling fans and are working to improve the efficiency of switches, which can use 40 percent to 60 percent of maximum operating power when idle.